For second time in its 120-year life, Solon Mills Train Depot must find new home, purpose

More than 50 years after the Solon Mills Train Depot in Richmond was converted to a restaurant, the 120-year-old building must again prove it can change with the times, or be left to history.

Less than a year after the Depot Restaurant shut its doors, plans call for the land the building is on, along U.S. Route 12 near East Kuhn Road, to be used for other private ventures. As a result, the depot must find a new home and purpose or risk being torn down.

Several organizations, including the W.A. McConnell Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the history of Richmond, have taken up the mantle to save the depot.

“Once these buildings are gone, there’s no bringing them back,” said Peter Gussie, who sits on the McConnell Foundation’s Board of Directors.

The start of the depot’s history can be placed around 1902, Gussie said. After serving as one of the main train depots for the area for more than five decades, the building was slated to be torn down in the mid-20th century, he said.

Instead, it was moved to Richmond where after a few more years, it became a restaurant during the 1960s and ‘70s, Gussie said. Eventually owned and operated by the Cherry family, the Depot became a popular eatery in the area for generations.

Susan Cherry, whose late husband took over the restaurant more than 50 years ago, said she remembers serving teenagers back in the 1970s. By the end of the Depot’s run, she was serving many of their grandchildren, she said.

“A lot of memories in there,” she said. “I haven’t been in it in almost a year, but in my sleep, I can walk through it as if I was still there.”

After Cherry’s husband died a few years ago, things in the restaurant started breaking down, she said. That, combined with running the day-to-day business, became overwhelming, Cherry said. Because of this, she opted to close.

“It just became too much,” she said.

Now, the building sits with an uncertain future for the first time in more than 50 years. But the McConnell Foundation is working to save the building. The owners of the land and the depot, Vernon Hills-based Graham Enterprise Inc. originally gave the organization until April 15 to find a new home for the building.

Graham, which owns a gas station just next door to the depot, wants to expand its operation. Multiple attempts to reach Graham officials were unsuccessful.

Despite the deadline passing, the McConnell Foundation has both the funding and a few promising leads needed to move the building, Gussie said. As a result, Graham has allowed for more time on the search, he said.

“It’s kind of an ASAP kind of deal,” Gussie said. “I know they’re looking to get started on [building out]. … I think they’re wanting things finished up by mid-summer.”

The effort to find a new spot has put the McConnell Foundation in front of numerous boards, including the Richmond Village Board, area school districts and townships, said Kurt Begalka, administrator for the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum.

“I can’t even tell you all the pieces that had to come together to make this happen,” Begalka said. “Historic preservation is not an easy thing to do. You lose more than you win.”

While some options have included a variety of spots in Richmond, with some more promising than others, nothing has been solidified yet, Gussie said.

Moving the building should cost about $25,000, Gussie said. Though that doesn’t include the additional funds the foundation will need to prep the building in its new spot. Those funds still need to be raised, he said.

The future use of the depot also will depend on where it’s placed, Gussie said. One spot kicked around was the Prairie Trail in Richmond. If placed there, it might serve as an information center and station for travelers, Gussie said.

Serving as a community center or even a business are things that could help the area too, Begalka said. It could act as a unique building that generates employment and maybe sales tax, he said.

“It can pay off big time for you,” Begalka said. “I think people are tired of every building looking like every other building.”

The village of Richmond is “doing what it can” to support the project, Village President Toni Wardanian said. After it became clear none of the village-owned land would work, the shift has been to recommend some privately owned spots, she said.

“We don’t have the money to purchase the land for them, nor do we want to be landlords,” she said. “We’re cheerleading.”

Saving the building can bring a number of benefits to the community, Gussie said. The historical aspect of a town ranks among the most important things that drive tourism, he said.

Wardanian said she thinks the main goal overall is to save the structure rather than keeping it in Richmond, although she would like to see it stay if it can. But if saving it means moving it out of the area, the village would be fine with it, she said. To her, the main goal should be viability.

“If it’s not going to be viable and it’s going to cost tons and tons of money, … I guess I don’t understand it,” she said. “For all the people that love these buildings, there’s just as many people who see it as a money suck.”

The community seems eager to save the building, Gussie said. Several messages, much of it on social media, are seeing support for this and other buildings in danger.

“For the most part it’s been overwhelmingly supportive,” he said. “We’re not looking for huge amounts of tax money or anything. It’s basically been all private funds.”